Automatic stop-valve.



J. D. LALOR @L F. Il. JAHN.

AUTOMATIC STOP VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.27.1910.

Patented Jul-y 14, 1914.

'niairiin sirenas 'rarnnr JAMES D. LALOR AND FREDERICK L. JHN, OF PHILADEIPI-IIA, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID. JAI-IN ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SAID LALOR.

. AUTOMATIC steer-VALVE.

License.

i Specification of Letters Patent. i

` Patented .iuiy inicia.

- Application flied August 27,1910. seriaiNo. 579,236. s

To all whom t may concern:

` Be it known that we,.JAMiis D. LALon and FREDERICK L ;JAI-IN, of the city of. Philavdelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Stop-Valves, whereof ,theA following is a specification, reference being had to vthe accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in a stop valve to be interposed rwithin a pipe through which fluid flows and which freely permits the normal flow o-fthefhiid through the pipe, but

` automatically -closes, and checks 'such flow.

. tive.

lupon the relative pressures in thefpipe, on.

in case ofa break or serious leakage in the pipe. Such valve is useful as affording a 'safety device to be used in connection with the feeding of liquid fuel in lighting, heat-v ing or power plants, orthe like. It is important in these plants that the liquid fuel 'shall be freely .fed through the, pipe to the the one side and the other of the valve.

In the case of a supply pipe foi-'liquid fue'h' the orifice through which the fuel'is fed f'is" necessarily of such restricted character, as'I compared withpthe valve orifice, as to mainf tain under noru'ial conditions a substantially equalvpressure on' the twosides of the "valve, but in case of a break or leak beyond the valve, abnormally increasing the o-utflow of the liquid fuel, .the pressure conditionis changed and the excessivepressure on the supply side of the valve effects .the instanf.

taneous closing thereof, cutting off alllfuih ther supply until the break or leak has been closed. A

In vthe accompanying drawings, FigureI, is a. longitudinal section through a valve embodying our invention. Fig. II, is a partial cross section on an enlarged scaleof the cylindrical valvealong the line II, II, of Fig. I. FigfIII, is a similar section along the line III, III.

rIhe valve is set in a casing 1, provided.' with an inlet chamber 2, and anoutlet cham.-v ber 3, separated by a partition Ll, provided,r

lfluid in the inlet and outlet chambers. vcoiled, sprin l2, interposed between a shoull with ahorizontal component 5, pierced by a circular orifice for the reception of the cylindif-ical valve 6, which plays vertically in this orifice. The valve is in the form of a cylinder open at the lower end and closed at the top. It isfprovided with a ring of lateral apertures7, 7, together constituting the normal valve aperture, and' also near its upper end with a set of lateral channels 8, by means of which fluid pressure from the in let chamber isi'naintained constantly upon the upper closed endfof the cylinder. f This upper end ofthe cylinderis received within a' dome 9, closed `by a screw cap l0.'4 The sides of the dome in. combinationwith the .valve seat'restrict the movement ofthe valve cylinder to a true axial reciprocation, the upward extent ofw'hich is limited by the position of the screw cap, the lower surface of which is however not so truly ground to thel upperendpf the 'cylinder as-,to prevent .fluid pressure from acting at all times upon` ypractically the entire surface of thev upper' end of the cylinder. lVhen in this upper or advanced position the fluid which is fed through the pipe has free passage from the inlet chamber through the aperturesA 7,l to the interiorfof the valve cylinder and thence out at the bottom of the cylinder to the'outlet' chamber, but when the valve falls or is retracted withinthe orifice to an extent .equal to or greater than the diameterv of these apertures," thel valves closed. The valve floats inthe 'liquidv or other fluid which is passing through and fills the pipe, having equal pressure surfaceseXpo-sed to the The der 13, on t e interior of the cylinder, and

`the base ofv thecasing, has sufficient upward ',strength to overcomewith a slight margin,

the specific gravity -of thel cylinder Iwithin the fluid 4in which ,the valve rests. Accord-- ingly, under normal circumstances, the presh sures on .the upper` and lowerjends of the forced-down. against vthe-slightly resisting action of the spring and is closed,lremain ing soy until opened by the means now to be ioo iio

described.I The valve is extremely sensitive i virtually floating in the liquid and incloslso ing involves no coincident motion -on the part of any valve stem or other packed member, thereby insuring immediate 'response to oyen sl1ght var1ations ofpressure..

" A vertical stem 15, enters the valve cham ber on its lower side, its entrance'b'eiiig, protected, by a suitable stuffing box 16.` This stem passes up through the coiled spring and terminates in .a head 17, which is re-f ceived within the auxiliary chamber218,A forming the upper end of the interior of the cylinder, and separated from the other parts a4 of the interiorby the nut 13, against which' the spring bears. ,The stem 15, passes freely through this nut, and the length of the stem 1-5, is such that under normal corr to the lower sidevofthe valve casing. The

play of the hand lever is directed 'and lim-4 ited by a slotl 30, within which theA lever received, cut ina depending post 31, with;

-interposition of 'a pin', which in. its'norymal position of insertion, 'limits the downward movement of the lever, but when with.T

drawn permits the lever to `fall further, as

is 'useful in case of disassemblage of the valve parts, orv to manually, and positively close vthe valve, orto-reciprocate the valvei for cleaning purposes., The weight 25, is

suiiicient -tonormally lhold the hand lever and, therefore, the stem 15, at vthe lower' extremity of the play, permittedby the pin 33, in which position it exercises no restraining action upon the valvelcylinder, leaving it free to fall:- instantly upon the establish" ment of pressure conditions calculated 'to' close the valve.; After the .valve has thus been closed, the hand lever must be pulled up manually tol thrust-the stein upand-raise or open the valve, but, when -this has been done,

provided normal fluid pressures have again beenrestablished, the valvex remains in its upper and open position, notwithstanding the immediatereturn ot'- the hand lever and stem,

-whenthe hand lever' is released. It is important that this means `for opening the valve after its closure, should be of such' character and so protected that the valve cannot be held in its open position, by any;

proper manipulation thereof, but must always be in -position to immediately close automaticallyupon the occurrence ofthe exigencies against which the valve is pro l y i.

3. Iii an automatic v stop valve provided vided.

It will be seenv that' in our l.valve the Amovement required to close the valve is solely that 'of the valve plunger, which oats A:within an inclosed'casing and is entirely inaccessible to wrongful manipulation.

Nor

visv 'there any valve. lstem -which by being `frozen or tightenedin its. stuffing box may reventthe valve from acting.

-, By our constructionnothing short of wilfultampering. withthe device, such as improperly tying the hand lever in its upper position, can prevent the immediate restoration4 of the parts 4to a position which leaves the valveoperative incase of the establish-v ment of the conditions to guard against which it isprovided.l lHaving thus described our invention',,we .olai m:-'. i

inthe iiuid channel; an orifice in eparti- In amautomatic stop valveA a partition fluid pressure on bothsides of the partition to have equal access to the valve, whereby excess of pressure on theinlet side automat ically retracts the valve cylinder within 'its orilice againstthe pressure of saidgspring lwith closure of the valve. 'v

2. In an automaticv stop valve a partition having a'horizontalcomponent, with valve orii'ice therei-n,interposed within the channel offluid communication; a hollow cylin drical valve, closed at top and open'at botcient strength to counterbalance the specific L gravity of the cylindrical-valve in the liquid which -ills the valve; a erturesinv the side of the cylinder adapte valve and the interior of the valve cylinder, and thence to the outlet side of the valve, when the valve cylinder is in its upper position,.but adapted ,to be moved to a position with'inthe valve oriice, with closureof the valve, when the latter isin its lower posi-v tion whereby under conditions of equal fluid pressureon both sides of the valve cylinder, it is held in .its upper and open position,

4but is depressed and the valve closed upon `the establishment of an -excessof Apressure on theinlet sida 1.05 tom, occupying said `orifice with capacity j to establish -free. communication between theinlet sidev of the ridente y E with a valve orice, a hollow cylindrical valve reciprocating within said orifice, and. Heating within the fluid passin through the valve, whereby it is driven own and closed by excessive ln'essureoflluiol on the inlet side of the valve;' said cylinder being apertured at lthe side so as to permit the low Aof 'fluid through it when the valveis in its open position, and being free from positive connection with any moving part which extends without-the valve casing.

4. Inl an automatic stop Valve, 'the eeml bination 'of 'the-valve; means whereby the valve whiehjis normally open whenV the` fluid pressures on either side are substan!V tially equal, is automatieally closeol by .ex-`

cess of fluid pressure on' the inlet s1de,a

Weighted lever without the-valve casing andv I a nonpositive `c`onnection between said .when it is closed` although its subsequent.

lowering does not close thewalve.

ln testimony whereof'we aiirour'. signav tures in. presence of two witnesses. JAMES D. -LALR-. y FREDERICK L. JAHN.. Witnesses: y

' CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, IR, Wimmer. 

